News Release October, 2012

Sustainability on a budget

Plumb Center has launched an initiative to highlight affordable measures that most households could install to help reduce their utility bills.

Details of ‘Sustainability on a Budget’ were announced at a reception last night at the House of Commons.

The aim of ‘Sustainability on a Budget’ is to help members of the public gain insight and information about practical, low-cost measures that will make a real difference not only to the cost of energy in their homes, but also to their carbon output.

The Parliamentary reception was addressed by Baroness Verma, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Tim Pollard, Plumb Center’s Head of Sustainability and Laura Sandys MP, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Greg Barker MP.

Plumb Center was joined at the event by key suppliers Honeywell, Grundfos, Fernox and Mira, all of whom were given the opportunity to discuss the economic and trading environment in the sustainability sector. It also gave MPs the chance to view the latest technologies in sustainability, and to gain insight and information about practical, low-cost measures from industry experts.

MPs also discussed holding similar events within their constituencies to promote efficiency measures.

Baroness Verma told guests: “Britain has some of the oldest and most inefficient building stock in Europe. Consumers pay a high price for our inefficient buildings. We know families are being hit hard by the rising cost of gas and electricity; our inefficient homes are using a lot more energy than they need to.

“Whilst we cannot control world wholesale gas prices, we can help people become aware of what they can do to reduce their energy bills. Around 15 million

of the 26 million homes in Britain are not properly insulated, and around 12 million non-condensing boilers remain in UK housing stock. More than half of all households do not have proper heating controls. If we are to make sustainable change to the efficiency of our housing stock, it is imperative that individual customers and households change the way they consume energy.

“The plumbing, heating and construction industries are crucial to the success of the Government's agenda through utilising the opportunities being designed for the market and local businesses. Changing our own behaviours towards a more energy efficient life-style will embed a change necessary for generations to come, and doing nothing is not really a viable option.”

Tim Pollard added: “Plumb Center has been working closely with the Department for Energy and Climate Change to support the development of the Green Deal. This is an important initiative that, with Government and industry working together, will help consumers reduce their bills and carbon footprint.”

ENDS

For more information please contact: Ian Oliver Wax PR and Marketing

07769 200464 / 01926 676234 ioliver@waxpr-marketing.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Plumb Center is a specialist supplier of domestic and commercial lightside products including

central heating equipment, plumbing, drainage, bathrooms and showers.

• Plumb Center is part of Wolseley UK, which provides construction products and materials through a nationwide branch network, including Plumb Center, Pipe Center, Drain Center, Climate Center, Parts Center and William Wilson.

• Wolseley UK is committed to meeting customer needs by providing the right products and

services when and where they are needed, at competitive prices. Its customers are anyone who constructs and maintains buildings and range from the largest construction companies to government organisations to self-employed contractors. Wolseley UK is a subsidiary of Wolseley plc.

• Wolseley plc is the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials in North America, the UK and Continental Europe. Ongoing Group revenue for the year ended 31 July 2012 was £12.7 billion and trading profit was £658 million. Wolseley has around 41,000 employees, is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: WOS) and is in the FTSE 100 index of listed companies. For more information, please visit www.wolseley.com or follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/wolseleyplc.

• Further information on Wolseley UK is available at www.wolseley.co.uk